Release Day Blitz + Review ~ ‘The Rental’ by Rebecca Berto!

At first, Rick Delaney watched Vee Wyland with the hungry eyes of a fox as if she were a rabbit … his rabbit. But one day, he slunk away without notice.

Months away from graduating high school, Vee’s life is on the verge of crumbling. At home, dire finances and long hours test her family. Her boyfriend hardly pays attention to her. And she can’t shake her feelings for his older brother, Rick.

Then, all in one night, tragedy tears her teetering life into shreds.

When Rick and Vee reunite, the sparks fly. However, she unwittingly signs away a future for both of them. In his world, a place called The Rental, she becomes Victoria and Rick becomes Rhett. One part of her watches with fascination, while the other unfurls and embraces her sexual awakening. It began as a game, but the consequences are real.

Following their heart’s desire is forbidden, but walking away could strip their hope for a future.

The Rental is an erotic romance that explores how sex isn’t purely physical; sometimes, it’s a gateway to your soul.

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Book Review ~ ‘The Rental’ by Rebecca Berto ~ 5 Stars!

I always adore reading a book by Rebecca Berto. Her ability to create such dynamic characters, ones who are both relatable and realistic always leaves me feeling great after I’ve finished the book, as I feel like I’ve been taken on a journey with real people who I admire and feel connected to because of their real flaws and everyday troubles which we as readers also go through.

The Rental was a book that puts out all the stops. Rebecca Berto has created a sexy, exciting and intriguing world inside The Rental, and it is one that has opened my mind in a way that other books in the erotica genre haven’t necessarily done. I adored Vee and her desperation to help her mother with bills after her father’s sudden and tragic death was something that made her a real idol for me. I also loved that she didn’t go into the Rental world with a close minded view of prostitution, but with a genuine curiosity for the world inside the Rental, and the way that sex and pleasure isn’t something to shy away from but to embrace as another way of showing love and affection, as well as accepting that when people are lonely, sometimes comfort in this form is a healthy fix. It was such an eye-opening premise that underlined this story that I connected with the story on such a deep level and felt bereft to leave the world of Tne Rental behind until the next book is released.

Now Rick. *phwoar! *fans self* How does Rebecca Berto do it? She created a sexy, intriguing but flawed individual who was so real to me. He wasn’t put on a pedestal and held to unrealistic expectations, which made him so much more attractive as the hero of the story, and something that made me feel I would be more likely to find a man like him in real life, which is what a good book should do for a reader, and as always Berto does this perfectly.

I absolutely adored the writing style in this book. The character development is paced so well, and I loved the decision to author made to introduce the reader to her characters almost a year previously to the events in the second half of the book. It gave it a real sense of time passing and the changes that the characters had made over this time, and how much the circumstances they’d found themselves in the time that had passed had shaped the decisions they were making in this second part of the novel.

As always Rebecca Berto has delivered with a fantastically written and incredibly sexy story that has me dying to return to the world of the Rental soon!

5 Stars!

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The strippers arrived at midnight, and we could hear their voices from the entry oozing with sex. They went to the garage and everyone crowded around, even those who lurked in small groups outside the front or inside the living room. But the crowd was too large and people spilled into the paved section out the back. Cara, myself, and the other girls linked hands and pushed with the crowd to secure a good spot.

We were in the second row in a circle. In the centre were three chairs, and two guys helped set up poles. To the side lay a long table with some gifts for Rick. I wanted to give Rick my own personal gift, although the girls freeloaded tonight. He and I were barely friends, but I felt compelled to get him something. On one side of the gift table was a box with a slot at the top. I left momentarily to put a ten-dollar note in, and then returned to watch.

It took fifteen minutes for everything to begin but when it did, my heart sped up, and I could hardly think past the excitement. The memory of Rick and me in the laundry had my heart fluttering yet pounding with confusion, and all I knew was I wanted to see more of this guy.

Justin stood in a clump of guys on the opposite side. I hadn’t seen him for over an hour now, and I kept holding my gaze his way in hope he looked, but he was interested in what was about to unfold. He fell into a daze, stared at something or nothing, and then snapped himself back to the scene.

But, Rick—he watched me and held my gaze.

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Did he know his biceps bulged like that? Or two veins on either side of his neck were strained? And his tightened lips … did he know how controlled and stern he was? There wasn’t a side to him that didn’t appeal to me.

My mouth was dry and it became impossible to swallow. I ran my tongue over my lips and ran my fingers through my hair. I lifted it up over my shoulders and lolled my head to allow air. When I looked back, Rick had a grin on his face. I feared he knew a whole lot more than he should, probably more than I knew about my own thoughts.

They started chanting Rick’s name, so I joined in. The strippers quickly discovered who he was and strutted up to him. One grabbed his left hand, one his right and the other pulled him forward with the hooks in his jeans.

“Ahem, ahem,” Justin cleared his throat.

The middle stripper kicked Rick down with the tip of her stiletto. He crashed into the chair, fingers curling around the arms tightly.

“So,” Justin continued, “Rick needs to be cleaned. He is a naughty boy who hasn’t been home for over a year. Now he’s back and his clothes are filthy, his mouth needs to be washed out, and he probably needs some attention down below.” Raising his voice, he said, “What do we think, guys?”

Everyone cheered.

The DJ restarted the music as all three strippers magnetised to Rick. One unbuttoned his shirt and tore it off. The other was on her knees between his legs and undid his jeans. I took deep breaths to calm down, but it was hard with Rick lounged back on the chair, arms spread over the sides, and his hands clenched around the ends—probably to stop himself from touching one of the girls. He widened his legs and one girl fit in between them.

Oh, and that little, incy wincy,

teeny weeny factor he had nothing on

besides his royal blue briefs.

I wasn’t sure I could wear that colour again.

The strippers tortured him during their dances. He looked up and down at them or called out to the boys, but not once did his briefs tent up. In fact, from his glazed expression, he was miles away with consuming thoughts, such as those ones that overtook him in the laundry earlier. He—I even dared to think—looked possibly bored as those three slim and sexy strippers tried to please him.

The strippers continued, attending to Justin’s requests. One opened a bottle of water and decided both her and Rick need cleaning. She tipped her head back, breasts cradling Rick’s face and poured the bottle down, water gushing all over them. Rick jerked back and forward into her with the shock of the water. Another girl was behind him, and her hands ran up and down his chest. After soothing him, she toed one of her feet down the side of his face, down his chest, along his briefs and back. The other danced by herself, touching her curves, and stripped for Rick to watch.

Something about their confidence reeled in my interest. The way they laughed louder, danced more seductively, flirted heavily with what they could and couldn’t do while bare-chested and near naked looked natural. My body flushed, but it had nothing to do with embarrassment. A sensation had released in me, and it was similar to when I slammed into Rick’s chest at my house.

Two of Rick’s friends soon sat down in the chairs next to Rick, and the strippers departed. They gave both of the other two lap dances. Apparently, Rick would get some more attention later, but he called it quits for now, needing ‘space.’

I left also, heading to the laundry room. Ditching that cool cup of ice water had been a mistake. I needed a bath of ice water. And a fan.

Rebecca Berto writes stories about love and relationships. She gets a thrill when her readers are emotional reading her books, and gets even more of a kick when they tell her so. She’s strangely imaginative, spends too much time on her computer, and is certifiably crazy when she works on her fiction.

Rebecca Berto lives in Melbourne, Australia with her boyfriend and their pets.